The subject matter disclosed herein relates to meters, and more specifically, to communications for energy meters.
Energy meters are electrical utility meters that may be able to record consumption of electric energy over intervals of time and communicate the recorded information back to the utility providing the electricity. The energy meters may include advanced functionality including the ability to understand when and how power is consumed, introduce advanced power pricing schemes based upon an amount of usage at specific times, etc. Further, the energy meters may provide energy consumers bill estimates, may help to manage use, and/or help reduce energy costs. The energy meters are typically connected through a single network interface, such as an advanced metering infrastructure (AMI), to a head end server. The energy meter is registered with the head end server, and the head end server controls meter reads and other features of the energy meters. Unfortunately, the AMI networks generally provide low-bandwidth communications. Further, the AMI networks typically include a vast number of nodes (e.g., energy meters) that connect to the head end server, thus potentially creating delays of data transmission between the head end server and the energy meters.